Did you know that eighty-eight percent of women wear shoes that are too small for their feet, and that fifty-five percent have painful bunions?

Bunions are a deformity of the bone on the side of yoru feet, often very painful, just below your big toe. What happens is that the big toe is squeezed in too much and turns in toward the second toe, causing the tissue around the join to become swollen and sensitive. This makes a bump on the side of your big toe which grows over time and becomes so painful that surgery may become necessary. The trick is to not let it get to that point.

Shoes are often the culprit behind bunions for women, who suffer from them nine times more than men. Those high heels and pretty shoes come at a price ladies. When you wear shoes that don’t feel your feet properly, have high heels, or are pointed and force your feet into an uncomfortable shape, over time you may develop this painful condition.

Make sure to wear shoes that fit correctly and don’t push your toes in together in an unnatural way. Prolonged usage of those pretty shoes can have painful consequences so be sure to limit the amount of time you wear them. Be weary of buying shoes online just by size; you should always wear them first and make sure they’re as comfortable as possible, and don’t squeeze in your toes together too much.

If you’re in the 55% of the women that have disregarded the pain and are now suffering from full-blown bunions, then consider getting splints and custom orthotics from a podiatrist like Dr. Elle Farajian. Custom orthotics are very different from the prefabricated type, and they’re designed to perfectly fit your feet. A cast is made from your feet while you’re at the office and the orthotics come back custom-style, made just for you. Medications can also be provided if your bunions are due to arthritis in order to reduce the swelling and the pain.

If the pain becomes unbearable then the next step is surgery. Sounds scary but it’s actually performed all the time and it can give your fee their shape back and get rid of the pain. It takes about six to eight weeks for the recovery but that’s still better than not being able to walk in shoes and suffer from pain all the time.

Contact our office for a consultation if you think that it’s time to take care of your bunions, at 714-842-7277.